Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 24.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 983 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 4.0% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of DAL opened at $58.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.64. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.76 and a 52-week high of $59.07.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 36.02% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.40.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,921 shares of company stock worth $5,080,586 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.